Men's Grooming Sector has Lucrative Opportunities for Growth

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With more number of brands coming into the men’s grooming sector, the Indian market is now full of options and opportunities for men to feel and look better as well. We tell you more about the lucrative opportunities attached to this sector.

The Indian men's grooming industry is thriving due to many reasons like the urge to look even better as compared to others, career growth with better looks etc. DEPOT - The Male Tools & Co, an Italian brand is into manufacturing male grooming products purely for the luxury masses in India. The company which has taken the rights of distribution in India, SSIZ International is into the distribution of international labels in India in beauty and cosmetics. Its Director Rayed Merchant tells us: ‘There is a growing awareness in male audience these days when it comes to self-care and I am not talking about Indian male celebrities who are always at the top of their grooming game. Surprisingly, this is also exactly the reason why most Indian men want to go for clean up. It’s not to impress their dates but to earn brownie points at work, according to a report put out by the global marketing research firm, Nielsen, late last year. The grooming market for men in India is well worth over Rs 5000 crore and it is rapidly expanding purely because Indian men want to get in the good books of their bosses at work and climb up the corporate ladder.’

‘Over the last decade, the demand for male grooming products has driven companies to sell items beyond shaving gels, razors, and deodorants for men. Currently, the market comprises shampoos and fairness creams that are specifically made for men. Certain stores even stock beard balms and beard shampoos. The sales of men’s face creams have more than doubled, while the use of face-cleansing products among men in India has jumped a massive 60 times between 2009 and 2016.’ Merchant says.

Who are setting men ready?

More number of brands are now launching men’s grooming products to target them in the right way. Recently, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India’s largest consumer products company, and US-based retailer Amazon’s Indian subsidiary have co-developed a line of hair and men grooming products. In December last year, Emami also picked up a 30% equity stake in Gurugram-based Helios Lifestyle, which sells men’s grooming products under The Man Company brand. So, getting into the men’s grooming space is a trend now. Brands are in this way providing better options for Indian men. Thanks to the boom in the male grooming industry that men have bigger options now. Companies like L’Oréal, HUL, Nivea and many more have shown greater interest in investments in men’s grooming products.

Challenges

Like any other industry, Men’s grooming sector too has its own set of challenges. Truefitt & Hill is another leading men’s grooming brand. Istayak Ansari, Director and Co-founder of Lloyds Luxuries says: ‘Setting up a men’s grooming brand was much harder if we talk about some years ago. It is often seen that people usually are not able to differentiate between grooming and manscaping. It is still not much appreciated if a man gets his eyebrow or manicure pedicure done. Therefore, the process of beautification is restricted to some specific sections. Another challenge we face is forecasting. As most of the trends are inspired by international ramps and Bollywood that trickles down to the Indian market and becomes a huge trendsetter amongst the youth especially. We have to keep ourselves and moreover our staff updated for the same. The third and the most important challenge we face is training the staff. Getting a well-trained staff or training the unfledged novices is equally challenging. Since they have the responsibility of representing the brand, it’s the most crucial factor to be taken care of.’

Men do not feel the need to adopt a multi-step grooming routine like women. Merchant says: ‘Even in South Korea, where spending on men’s grooming is higher than normal, per capita spend only stands at US$29.00 among male consumers, with men’s grooming only accounting for 15% of total value sales. China, despite being the source of over half of future absolute growth for the category, continues to see limited spending, with the average Chinese male spending just US$1.40 on grooming products.’

So, with more awareness, the industry could see a better rise in the coming future. The challenges are rising and the main test for most brands, in the long run, will be to keep a hold of their target consumer and let go off their hesitation to buy products related to men’s grooming.